Chapter 11: Bulma's Beacon
Rufus Messer walked through the human maze of cubicles and copy boys on the third floor of The Red Beacon. He was rather proud of himself. He had managed not only to break the Yamcha story at just the right time, but barely two days later he was promised an exclusive with Bulma Briefs.
Ever since he had left London, Rufus had wished he hadn't. London had the royals and the celebrities everywhere. If there happened to be a shortage of news from the mother country, there was always an American celebrity staying somewhere near by, and probably doing something that would make good news. The Red Beacon was respectable, so most of the good stuff had to be edited out of his writing.
He had heard about the job at the Beacon from his mother. His mother had always hated his job. She thought that tabloid gossip wasn't befitting the family, especially after all the money she had shelled out for journalism school. She had found the job on-line, and thought that her half English, half Japanese, bilingual son would be perfect for the job. Not only would her baby be holding down a proper job, he would be making enough for both of them to move back to her home country.
Rufus' father, John, met his future wife while he was studying Buddhism in the mid seventies. John had come to Japan in order to find spiritual guidance; instead he guided himself to the bed of a shrine maiden. The maiden really didn't want to be a maiden, but she was the only daughter in the family, so her father, happy that his bloodline would live on through his sons, sent her to the shrine to pay homage to Buddha. When she met John, she fell madly in love with him, and together, they left Japan to start a new life in London.
Shortly after, Rufus was born. Years later, she Divorced John. She had caught him at a Japanese bathhouse in the seedy sections of down town, and she as hardly one to settle for being second best. Now, nearly seven years later, she and her baby would be going back to her homeland.
Once there, they settled in well. Rufus made plenty of money to support them both, though most of it was made moonlighting as a tabloid gossip columnist. Mrs. Messer got used to the good life. In fact, she was so used to the good life, that she didn't even mind when her son wrote that scathing article about Bulma Briefs. In fact, she was rather excited, considering there were rumors that Rufus would likely get a fat raise and a promotion because of it. Even now, she was flipping through catalogs, looking at all the wonderful things that they could have once he interviewed Bulma Briefs today.
Rufus was told that the interview would happen in Ms. Brief's office on the Capsule Corporation grounds. He was rather confused as to the location, especially since Ms. Briefs had stepped down as Vice President mid last month. Brushing it off as her wanting to feel better in her own environment, he drove on.
When he reached the Visitor gates of Capsule Corp., a security guard stopped him.
"Name and photo I.D. please." Ground out the burly guard.
"Messer, Rufus, I'm with the Red Beacon." He said while handing the guard his driver's license.
"Alright, Mr. Messer, employee parking is around the third building on the left. When you enter the doors, Suki will tell you where to report." The guard said with a smile like a Cheshire cat.
Slightly confused, Rufus did as he was told. He found a parking spot near the doors, and entered the impressive building. He was greeted by another overly friendly employee, and told to take the elevator to the top floor. If he would wait in the waiting room, Ms. Briefs would see him shortly.
Once he entered the top floor he was a little blown away. There were modern art statues dotting the huge waiting room. He gave the secretary his name, and then made his way around the room to look at the art. They were strips of molded metal made to look like people in various positions. One in particular caught his eye. There was a girl, he could tell by the ponytail wrapped in a metal bow, and she was holding the hand of a little spiky haired boy. It was a particularly sweet pose, nothing out of the ordinary, except for the little boy; he had a tail...a monkey tail. Rufus looked at the small plaque.
"Don't look at the Moon" artist Bulma Briefs.
"All of the statues were done by Ms. Briefs." Came the voice of the secretary from his side.
"Ms. Briefs will see you now, sir." Mina added, a slight giggle escaping her lips.
If he didn't know any better, he would think that he was the center of some big joke. Again, Rufus brushed it off. He was just being paranoid. After all, he did write a rather unpleasant article about the most powerful woman in Japan...it was just nerves, that's all...he gulped as he pushed open he heavy mahogany doors of Bulma Briefs personal office.
He was again taken aback. The entire top floor was her office. The floor contained only her office, a private bathroom, a public bathroom, and a waiting room. Needless to say, her office was the roomiest. Directly opposite the doors was her professional space. A nice desk with comfy chairs and a state of the art computer sat in front of him. To the left was a library and living area, and to his right was a lab. Machine parts littered the floor and blue prints covered the tables.
"Sit down Mr. Messer, and we shall begin." Bulma said, emerging from the rest room.
"Why don't we get this whole interview thing over with first, shall we" She said while taking her seat.
"Absolutely, Ms. Briefs. Now, could you tell the readers about the father of your child and how your child was conceived?" He asked, pen shaking in his hand.
"Sure thing, Mr. Messer. Now, I guess it all began the night Yamcha dumped me. I was lonely, so I propositioned my houseguest, Vegeta. We've been having an ever since."
Rufus couldn't stop the look of glee from coming over his face.
"Would you care to elaborate on this Vegeta fellow?" He asked.
"Vegeta one of the last two of his species. He's from the planet Vegeta and is the crown prince. His home planet was destroyed when he was a boy, she he joined Lord Freeza's army. Vegeta learned to shoot energy blasts out of his hands, and can destroy entire planets. Oh, he can fly, too. Yesterday, he got in a space ship and decided that he wanted to get stronger by traveling all through space. I may or may not see him again." Bulma finished, dramatically sighing and holding the back of her hand to her forehead.
Frowning, Rufus put his pen down and massaged his temples.
"I guess that's all I need, thanks." He said, moving to get up.
"Oh, but Mr. Messer, we're not done, you haven't gotten your employee benefits package." Bulma said as she pulled a booklet out of her desk.
"You see, I decided that I need something to fill my time, so I bought The Red Beacon this morning. My lawyers and I just signed the paperwork before you got here. So you see, Mr. Messer, you have a choice, work for me and write a nice article about Yamcha, and me or take the information I just gave you and have it printed elsewhere. Although, I doubt they would believe you, seeing as how it is so completely insane, and you would have just been fired by the woman you are writing the article about. The choice is yours, Mr. Messer. Have a career, or ruin it." Bulma smiled like a cat that had just found the canary cage open.
"Your article will be on your desk by Monday, Ms. Briefs." Rufus said in a shaky voice.
As he turned to walk away, he heard Bulma clear her throat, he turned and saw her holding the employee manual in her hand.
"We will discuss your future at Capsule Corporation after I read your article on Monday. Good day, Mr. Messer."
This one I likeï
Read and review!
Kanjizai